McMillan & Wife complete series question (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

I opened the season one box for McMillan and Wife and ripped the first two discs with MakeMKV. I didn’t have time to watch an episode yet. I did not realize that there is a pilot film too. I don’t think I’ve seen that before. I did sample the first production episode and it looks great.

I realize that I’m probably the only person in this thread making MKV files, but I’ll mention it anyway, I was wondering why VEI has two files of the two episodes that are for the play-all option. Unless one version is different than the other, but they appear the same. I should pop the disc into my blu ray player, maybe that will show why.

 

[Dan McW]

I have the 12-disc set of McMillan and Wife, as it turns out--two cases with six discs each, stacked on one spindle. Tonight I checked all of seasons 1-4, and none of the episodes have the Mystery Movie opening. I guess they removed it for the cheapie set. I hit play all and clicked on each individual episode, and no MM opening. I also watched as the set loaded (normally I tune to a TV channel while the FBI warnings and such appear), and the MM opening didn't appear then either. So I guess the 24-disc set has the MM opening?

 

[jcroy]

I realize that I’m probably the only person in this thread making MKV files, but I’ll mention it anyway, I was wondering why VEI has two files of the two episodes that are for the play-all option. Unless one version is different than the other, but they appear the same. I should pop the disc into my blu ray player, maybe that will show why.

The only way to know for sure, is to read the information in the *.ifo files. (Makemkv parses and processes the *.ifo files as part of its standard startup procedure every time a new dvd disc is loaded).

For a quick read, I use the old IfoEdit program which reads particular ifo files, deciphering the information and writing it out in a human readable format that makes sense to someone who understands how a standalone dvd player's "virtual machine" functions.


Many years ago I wrote my code to parse through *.ifo files, in order to figure out how "extra basketcase drm" on dvd discs function, largely to fool then-current ripping programs to crash-and-burn and/or fall into an infinite loop. Most of the specification in *.ifo files is outline in:

DVD-Video Information

DVD-Video Information

Though with all that being said, two (or more) different PGCs (program chains) with content that looks identical, will likely be pointing to the exact same spot in the *.vob files. The differences might possibly be using a different audio track, such as a director's commentary, dolby ac3, pcm stereo 2-track, etc ...

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks for the reply

The only way to know for sure, is to read the information in the *.ifo files. (Makemkv parses and processes the *.ifo files as part of its standard startup procedure every time a new dvd disc is loaded).

For a quick read, I use the old IfoEdit program which reads particular ifo files, deciphering the information and writing it out in a human readable format that makes sense to someone who understands how a standalone dvd player's "virtual machine" functions.


Many years ago I wrote my code to parse through *.ifo files, in order to figure out how "extra basketcase drm" on dvd discs function, largely to fool then-current ripping programs to crash-and-burn and/or fall into an infinite loop. Most of the specification in *.ifo files is outline in:

DVD-Video Information

DVD-Video Information

Though with all that being said, two (or more) different PGCs (program chains) with content that looks identical, will likely be pointing to the exact same spot in the *.vob files. The differences might possibly be using a different audio track, such as a director's commentary, dolby ac3, pcm stereo 2-track, etc ...

Thanks for the reply Jr. I thought perhaps there was an alternate audio track too. I’ll be checking.

 

[OttoIsHere]

I have the 12-disc set of McMillan and Wife, as it turns out--two cases with six discs each, stacked on one spindle. Tonight I checked all of seasons 1-4, and none of the episodes have the Mystery Movie opening. I guess they removed it for the cheapie set. I hit play all and clicked on each individual episode, and no MM opening. I also watched as the set loaded (normally I tune to a TV channel while the FBI warnings and such appear), and the MM opening didn't appear then either. So I guess the 24-disc set has the MM opening?

I can answer your question as I went through the McMillan & Wife box set recently (I have the 24-disc set).

On the 24-disc set, Seasons One and Two do NOT have the Mystery Movie opening. Seasons Three, Four and Five DO have the Mystery Movie opening, and it displays as a separate file on my Blu-Ray player, such that the Mystery Movie opening has a runtime of 1:02; and then the episode begins immediately after that file plays beginning at 0:00. Season Six (which was just titled McMillan) uses the same MM opening as previous seasons, but it is no longer a separate file and attached directly to the episode file.

Further, the MM opening VEI included really only applies to Season Two and Three, as it includes Hec Ramsey in the introduction which was cancelled before Season Four of McMillan & Wife debuted. I also do not know if NBC used the MM for Season Two, as I don't know when it appeared, so it might not even have existed in 1972 when Hec Ramsey was added to the wheel. At any rate Universal most likely updated the MM opening after Hec Ramsey was cancelled, as I did find the correct MM opening on YouTube (posted earlier in this thread) for the 1976-1977 season which included McMillan and Quincy and obviously would have been appropriate on the VEI discs for that last season of the show.

 

[Dan McW]

Thanks for the reply! Looks like I may be swapping out a 12-discer for a 24. I really do love the MM opening, as I remember seeing it as a child in the 1970s and not seeing it again for ages.

 

[OttoIsHere]

Thanks for the reply! Looks like I may be swapping out a 12-discer for a 24. I really do love the MM opening, as I remember seeing it as a child in the 1970s and not seeing it again for ages.

 

[OttoIsHere]

You're welcome! Hopefully you saw the MM openings I found on YouTube and posted earlier in this thread (page 2).

I found the 24-disc box about (3) years ago on eBay, the separated individual seasons were still sealed and I've since checked all the discs (no issues). At that point in time that box was no longer for sale on the VEI website and obviously hasn't reappeared since. There is also a 21-disc set floating out there that VEI also issued, which has the individual seasons like the 24-disc box but does NOT include The Snoop Sisters series included in the 24-disc box.

The Snoop Sisters episodes include the MM theme for the midweek wheel shows (like Banacek) with different edits of it in each episode, so you can see how NBC & Universal repurposed the MM opening way back when, if you're interested in that.

One thing I wish Kino Lorber had picked up with the Columbo Bu-Ray was adding the MM theme, I think that would have been cool touch, it just get you in the mood for these shows. The MM theme with Columbo intro with the announcer saying "Tonight starring Peter Falk as Columbo" must still exist in a vault somewhere.

 

[Robert Saccone]

You're welcome! Hopefully you saw the MM openings I found on YouTube and posted earlier in this thread (page 2).

I found the 24-disc box about (3) years ago on eBay, the separated individual seasons were still sealed and I've since checked all the discs (no issues). At that point in time that box was no longer for sale on the VEI website and obviously hasn't reappeared since. There is also a 21-disc set floating out there that VEI also issued, which has the individual seasons like the 24-disc box but does NOT include The Snoop Sisters series included in the 24-disc box.

The Snoop Sisters episodes include the MM theme for the midweek wheel shows (like Banacek) with different edits of it in each episode, so you can see how NBC & Universal repurposed the MM opening way back when, if you're interested in that.

One thing I wish Kino Lorber had picked up with the Columbo Bu-Ray was adding the MM theme, I think that would have been cool touch, it just get you in the mood for these shows. The MM theme with Columbo intro with the announcer saying "Tonight starring Peter Falk as Columbo" must still exist in a vault somewhere.

On the 2nd season Australian BluRay of Columbo the episode "Etude in Black" is available in a 70 minute cut that has the MM opening on it. I kept that version from my old rips when I replaced what I had from the new Kino set I just bought.

 

[OttoIsHere]

On the 2nd season Australian BluRay of Columbo the episode "Etude in Black" is available in a 70 minute cut that has the MM opening on it. I kept that version from my old rips when I replaced what I had from the new Kino set I just bought.

Interesting, thanks for the info! I'm looking forward to watch that original cut of "Etude in Black"; I watched the longer version last year on DVD and was a bit distracted throughout (the scenes with John Cassevettes longer hair in middle of the episode especially threw me off), especially since I didn't know it was an extended version until I researched the episode after I watched it.

Also, the MM opening I found earlier on YouTube for 1976-1977 season would have worked too, at least for Columbo's Season Six, as it has the narrator specifically announcing Columbo at the end of the clip. So between the Australian Blu-Ray and that clip at least some versions of the Columbo specific MM opening do exist.

 

[Dan McW]

You're welcome! Hopefully you saw the MM openings I found on YouTube and posted earlier in this thread (page 2).

I found the 24-disc box about (3) years ago on eBay, the separated individual seasons were still sealed and I've since checked all the discs (no issues). At that point in time that box was no longer for sale on the VEI website and obviously hasn't reappeared since. There is also a 21-disc set floating out there that VEI also issued, which has the individual seasons like the 24-disc box but does NOT include The Snoop Sisters series included in the 24-disc box.

The Snoop Sisters episodes include the MM theme for the midweek wheel shows (like Banacek) with different edits of it in each episode, so you can see how NBC & Universal repurposed the MM opening way back when, if you're interested in that.

One thing I wish Kino Lorber had picked up with the Columbo Bu-Ray was adding the MM theme, I think that would have been cool touch, it just get you in the mood for these shows. The MM theme with Columbo intro with the announcer saying "Tonight starring Peter Falk as Columbo" must still exist in a vault somewhere.

Thank you. I have seen the MM openings on YouTube. One question I have--did the season one MM openings ever turn up? Seems like at one point all of them were out there except the earliest one.

 

[OttoIsHere]

Thank you. I have seen the MM openings on YouTube. One question I have--did the season one MM openings ever turn up? Seems like at one point all of them were out there except the earliest one.

I search through YouTube occasionally, but I haven’t found any other videos that relate to the Sunday Night Wheel with the core shows McMillan & Wife, Columbo, & McCloud except for the 1976-1977 one previously posted. They could still be out there buried somewhere deep inside YouTube and just aren’t shaking out in the searches.

I’m not sure myself that the theme was part of the wheel in 1971-1972 (I was just too young to know at the time and can’t find any definitive proof it was). However, I did learn that the theme was recorded for the 1972 Henry Mancini & His Orchestra album Big Screen, Little Screen:



The video says the song was released on 05/14/72, but I can’t find proof of that date (the website discogs.com just says the album was released in 1972). I did find another forum that discussed this topic (I don’t believe I can link it on here) related to vintage synthesizers where somebody “in the know” claims this version of the song was recorded on 06/12/72 (along with a pre-recording for a Columbo episode) with a 43-person orchestra. So if there was a version for the 1971-1972 season it would have been recorded in 1971, but I can’t find it, if it actually even happened.

I was also pointed to the Mancini theme for the one season Cade’s County from the 1971-1972 season, with a later version of the theme also recorded for the Big Screen, Little Screen album:



And here’s a copy of the earlier original opening theme and closing for comparison:



Just adding that as some of the instrumentation sounds similar to what was used in the Mystery Movie theme. Plus it's a catchy little song.

I think this is one of those mysteries of 50+ years ago that remains unsolved. If only I could get invited to rummage through the Universal vaults and piece the puzzle all together

 

[Wiseguy]

I search through YouTube occasionally, but I haven’t found any other videos that relate to the Sunday Night Wheel with the core shows McMillan & Wife, Columbo, & McCloud except for the 1976-1977 one previously posted. They could still be out there buried somewhere deep inside YouTube and just aren’t shaking out in the searches.

I’m not sure myself that the theme was part of the wheel in 1971-1972 (I was just too young to know at the time and can’t find any definitive proof it was). However, I did learn that the theme was recorded for the 1972 Henry Mancini & His Orchestra album Big Screen, Little Screen:



The video says the song was released on 05/14/72, but I can’t find proof of that date (the website discogs.com just says the album was released in 1972). I did find another forum that discussed this topic (I don’t believe I can link it on here) related to vintage synthesizers where somebody “in the know” claims this version of the song was recorded on 06/12/72 (along with a pre-recording for a Columbo episode) with a 43-person orchestra. So if there was a version for the 1971-1972 season it would have been recorded in 1971, but I can’t find it, if it actually even happened.

I was also pointed to the Mancini theme for the one season Cade’s County from the 1971-1972 season, with a later version of the theme also recorded for the Big Screen, Little Screen album:



And here’s a copy of the earlier original opening theme and closing for comparison:



Just adding that as some of the instrumentation sounds similar to what was used in the Mystery Movie theme. Plus it's a catchy little song.

I think this is one of those mysteries of 50+ years ago that remains unsolved. If only I could get invited to rummage through the Universal vaults and piece the puzzle all together

The Mystery Movie theme is also on Mancini's 1976 album "The Cop Show Themes" including themes from The Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-0, Kojak, Streets of San Francisco, Police Woman and Baretta.

 

[Dan McW]

I have a music book with classic Universal TV show themes. For the Mystery Movie theme, most of the notes on the treble-clef staff are written with ledger lines to extend them way above the staff because the notes are so high. I think some of the notes have the ottava or 8va notation above them that indicates they are one octave above what is written.

 

[GlennC]

I opened the season one box for McMillan and Wife and ripped the first two discs with MakeMKV. I didn’t have time to watch an episode yet. I did not realize that there is a pilot film too. I don’t think I’ve seen that before. I did sample the first production episode and it looks great.

I realize that I’m probably the only person in this thread making MKV files, but I’ll mention it anyway, I was wondering why VEI has two files of the two episodes that are for the play-all option. Unless one version is different than the other, but they appear the same. I should pop the disc into my blu ray player, maybe that will show why.

This is what I do. I’ve never actually played a DVD or BluRay for many years. All the discs I own are ripped to my media server using MakeMKV and played from there. This gives the added advantage of checking the integrity of the discs.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey Glenn! Yes, as I’ve been making MKv files, I never watch the discs either! With so many TV shows in my collection, this just makes it so much more convenient and easy to watch any TV show in my collection.

 

[GlennC]

I’ve also been able to put all my Mystery Movie DVD rips through Topaz AI and upscaled the episodes to HD. Obviously not as good as Columbo real BluRay but second best.

 

[Nelson Au]

Interesting Glenn, I’ve never known how people can do the upscaling. I’ll read up on Topaz.

 

[Dan McW]

I just received my 24-disc set in the mail and immediately played season-three episodes to see the Mystery Movie opening, which always makes me wonder: who played the man with the flashlight? Nice to have only two episodes per disc instead of four or so as with the 12-disc set.

One oddity I've noticed with both the 12- and 24-disc sets--there are places such as on the back of the outer box or on the back of some of the disc cases where credits for the show are listed. Rock Hudson is shown, but Susan Saint James, John Schuck, and Nancy Walker are left off while some actors who appeared far less often are listed. I don't mind that, as long as the episodes are uncut, which they seem to be.

 

[Nelson Au]

Cool Dan, I haven’t tried the third season discs yet. I am curious to see the Mystery Movie opening from the discs.

BTW, I had COZI TV on today and they showed the first episode of the final season of McMillan. The first without Susan St. James. It was odd to see.